1779- THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 367 



land, which we took to be Sand-down Point. * We 

 stood in toward the land, till half past five, when we 

 hauled our wind to the southward. At this time we 

 saw a number of Japanese vessels, close in with the 

 land, several seemingly engaged in fishing, and others 

 standing along shore. We now discovered to the 

 westward a remarkably high mountain, with a round 

 top, rising far inland. There is no high ground 

 near it, the coast being of a moderate elevation, and, 

 as far as we could judge, from the haziness of the 

 horizon, much broken bv small inlets. But to the 

 southward of the hummock island before mentioned, 

 there appeared, at a great distance, within the 

 country, a ridge of hills, stretching in a direction 

 toward the mountain, and probably joining with it. 

 As this is the most remarkable hill on the coast, we 

 could have wished to have settled its situation ex- 

 actly; but having only had this single view, were 

 obliged to be contented with such accuracy as our 

 circumstances would allow. Its latitude, therefore, 

 we conceive to be 35° 20'; its longitude, estimated 

 by its distance from the ships, at this time fifteen 

 leagues, 140° 26'. 



As the Dutch charts make the coast of Japan 

 extend about ten leagues to the south-west of White 

 Point, at eight we tacked, and stood off to the east- 

 ward, in order to weather the point. At midnight* 

 we again tacked to the south-west, expecting to fall 

 in with the coast to the southward, but were sur- 

 prized, in the morning at eight to see the hummock, 

 at the distance only of three leagues, bearing west 

 north-west. We began at first to doubt the evidence 

 of our senses, and afterward to suspect some de- 

 ception from a similarity of land; but, at noon, we 

 found ourselves, by observation, to be actually in 

 latitude 35° 43', at a time when our reckonings gave 

 us 34° 48'. So that, during the eight hours in which 



* Sanduynege Hoeck, in latitude 3.5° 55'* Jansen. 



